Home»Joe Houchin» Puerto Viejo Coffee Roastery is Rocky Point’s Only Roaster—and Use Only the Best Chiapas Organic Beans!

Puerto Viejo Coffee Roastery is Rocky Point’s Only Roaster—and Use Only the Best Chiapas Organic Beans!

Nov 6, 2013 by Joe Houchin

There’s another Biosphere Reserve in the beautiful country of Mexico; this one is located in Chiapas on and around a group of mountains called Tres Picos, pronounced Three Peaks in English. About 3,700 feet up into those mountains, because of the perfect growing conditions there, the government allows farming of the high quality coffee bean that can be grown in that area as long as the farming is one hundred per cent organic. The result: Chiapas is the largest producer of organic coffee in Mexico, and Mexico is the largest producer of organically grown coffee in the world.

So…what does a coffee bean of this quality have to do with Puerto Peñasco? You’re correct. The bean has arrived in our little slice of paradise by the sea.

In fact, you can take in the enticing aroma of coffee beans being roasted to perfection as it wafts throughout the Malecon from the new Puerto Viejo Coffee Roastery located in the old Holanda Ice Cream space, catty corner across from the little white church. But you need not wait for the scent of roasting beans to invite you to visit Puerto Viejo. There is a coffee culture experience awaiting you from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM daily except Wednesday when they take a day off.

Perhaps the most important reason you’ll want to stop in for a visit at Puerto Viejo will be to enjoy the uniquely flavorful bouquet and taste of coffee made fresh and correctly from family picked and processed organically grown Chiapas beans that were custom artisan roasted on the premises. However, as much as the quality coffee, you will enjoy meeting and chatting with owner Luis Altamirano, who spent more than a year in due diligence and preparation to become an expert on what makes the highest quality coffee product, from the plant to the bean to the roaster to the taste buds of his clientele; a journey that included living and working in the thick vegetation of the Biosphere Reserve on his uncle’s coffee bean farm performing every process required to prepare the coffee bean for shipment to the roaster; attending the largest specialty coffee show in the world held in Portland, Oregon, interviewing dozens of major distributors and exhibitors to learn their buying criteria and habits; even traveling to Veracruz to inspect the manufacturer of his roaster; and ultimately passing 22 tests to obtain the coveted license and designation of “Q” Grader from the internationally respected Coffee Quality Institute in Los Angeles.

Taking advantage of his family ties in the coffee bean farming business, Luis took us on a colorful and fascinating pictorial journey through the farm of his uncle “Don Francisco” Almada, as he is affectionately known among the many smaller coffee bean growers around Tres Picos. You will observe in the these photos taken by Luis, the farm is not only meticulously tended, but is also located in a setting of thick jungle-like vegetation so fertile that a coffee bean plant can grow just about anywhere in the Three Peaks area of the long mountain range protected by the Biosphere Reserve. The advantage of purchasing coffee beans from his uncle assures he will receive the highest quality beans processed and sorted with the TLC of a concerned family member.

Luis considers himself a promoter of coffee culture. We consider him an excellent educator, a myth-buster of how coffee should be brewed, an expert committed to sharing his knowledge so that no one leaves his roastery uneducated. The great coffee is a plus, and the knowledge you’ll gain with each visit is a must that will keep you coming back for more of each.

Luis is also an expert on selecting the highest quality coffee beans for custom roasting to sell by the bag to individuals as well as restaurants and hotels interested in maintaining the highest standards of service to their clients and guests. In fact, Puerto Viejo’s current roaster is capable of supplying every restaurant and hotel in town with Luis’ fresh roasted Chiapas quality beans, which is his ultimate goal.

With his commitment to preparation that Luis has already demonstrated, coupled with his product knowledge and magnetic personality, we have no doubt that Puerto Viejo Coffee Roastery will become the sustaining supplier of organic coffee in Puerto Peñasco and beyond.

You can reach Puerto Viejo by phone: 638-388-8000, or by email at info@puertoviejo.com.mx for more information.

This article is brought to you by the Sonoran Resorts Sales Group, www.sonoranresorts.mx, Jim Ringquist, Director of Sales and Marketing.